Fatalities after incident at Manchester concert

Share to:

CNN)There are fatalities following an incident at Manchester Arena in England on Monday, according to local police.

In a Facebook post, Greater Manchester Police released the following statement: “Emergency services are currently responding to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena. There are a number of confirmed fatalities and others injured. Please AVOID the area as first responders work tirelessly at the scene. Details of a casualty bureau will follow as soon as available.”

The warning to stay away from Manchester Arena came after reports of two loud explosions during an Ariana Grande concert Monday night.

Ivo Delgado, a witness, told CNN he heard one explosion. He said there was smoke in a main corridor outside the arena seating and stage area..

“It was a really big explosion. Everybody started screaming and running,” he said.

Delgago said: “There were people on the floor … There was a lot of confusion.”

Social media posts from the scene showed panicked concert goers running down the arena’s stairs in an attempt to get away.

Greater Manchester Police tweeted that emergency services were “responding to serious incident at Manchester Arena. Avoid the area. More details will follow as soon as available.” They later tweeted that a “casualty bureau” was being set up at the arena site.

British Transport Police told CNN it was in the process of closing some transport in the area.

Video from near the scene showed a caravan of ambulances heading to the arena.

Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn offered support on Twitter. “Terrible incident in Manchester. My thoughts are with all those affected and our brilliant emergency services.”